1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for removing floating debris from the surface of a pool of liquid, and more particularly to a device utilized on the surface of the water of a swimming pool that serves to actively remove floating leaves, bugs and other debris.
2. Description of Problem Addressed and the Prior Art
Leaves and other floating debris are commonly removed from swimming pools by "skimmers" built into the walls of the pool at the normal water level. Wave action in the pool, generated by people using the pool and/or by the wind, is supposed to wash the floating leaves, etc. into troughs or openings in the wall of the pool, from whence they are drawn by a line connected to the suction side of the swimming pool pump. This system is less than satisfactory, particularly where the wind tends to blow floating leaves and debris against the pool walls at locations remote from the skimmer. Also, fluctuations in the water level adversely affect the operation of such fixed skimmers, even to the point of such skimmers becoming inoperative when the water level rises or falls even two or three inches. Further, it is not unknown that a built-in pool skimmer will have been placed in the pool wall at a location which is poorly placed relative to the overall circulation pattern established in the pool when the pool circulation system, of which that skimmer is a part, is operated. In all of such instances, a further skimmer elsewhere in the pool will be beneficial.
Attempts have been made to cope with fluctuations in the water level of the pool by devices such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,079 to Sharrow, Jr. wherein the skimmer unit floats in the water and hence always remains at the same position relative to the pool surface, even though the skimmer intake unit moves up and down with changes in the water level. These devices do not move about the pool, but rather are tethered in one place as shown in the Sharrow, Jr. patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,185 to Lombardi illustrates a skimmer which floats on the surface of the water and which utilizes a depending open mesh bag into which the floating leaves and debris are propelled downwardly by a jet of water. The Lombardi device moves over the surface of the swimming pool solely under the influence of air currents.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,412 to Stix teaches the use of a floating skimmer that is anchored at a location adjacent one wall of the pool, with it being the intent of that device to trap debris carried around the pool by currents, such as those occurring near the water inlet near the upper portion of the wall. The Stix device stays in the location in which it is held by the submerged anchor, and it has no means of its own for creating any currents that would bring leaves into the inlet of the device.
The Sermons U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,074 entitled "Leaf Skimmer for Pools" is another floating skimmer, but it differs by being tethered alongside a drain of the pool, with this device likewise having no means for creating currents of its own, being limited to gathering the debris brought to it by the currents established in the pool.
It has been proposed to float the skimmer unit in the pool water, and move the skimmer unit over the surface of the pool in such a manner that it eventually covers the entire surface and thus is much more likely to pick up floating leaves and debris. An example of this approach is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,557 to Weatherholt wherein a flat, platter-shaped floating housing has a mesh bottom and is dragged around the pool behind a conventional pool cleaner having a plurality of flexible whips or tentacles. The range and character of movement of the Weatherholt skimmer, as well as its capacity for holding debris, is extremely limited.
The Drew U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,424 entitled "Floating Swimming Pool Skimmer" teaches a floating swimming pool skimmer that is propelled randomly around the surface of a swimming pool, and because it has at least three inlet channels, floating debris can pass into the central collection area of the device through at least one of the channels, irrespective of the direction of motion of the device about the surface of the pool. This device is large and because of its complexity, it necessarily is quite expensive to manufacture and to maintain.
The Newcombe-Bond U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,622 utilizes a floating skimmer, but it necessitates the use of a submerged suction cleaner arranged to move randomly around the bottom of a pool. The suction cleaner is a powered device, that is attached to the floating skimmer by a line that may be wholly or partially elastic. No means are utilized for attracting floating leaves or other debris into the skimmer, so debris pickup from the surface of the pool is strictly by chance.
A patent not related to the removal of leaves and other debris from a swimming pool but nevertheless of some consequence to this invention is the Shimura U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,830 entitled "Water Surface Cleaner, Method and Apparatus," which issued Dec. 15, 1981. The Shimura device was clearly designed for the suctioning of non-solid flotage such as oil from the surface of a body of water, and instead of being powered by water from the return line of a swimming pool, the Shimura design manifestly relies upon the use of a pump and an expensive electric motor in his skimmer, as well as a suitable electric power source for the pump. As is obvious, the battery or batteries utilized by Shimura will necessarily need recharging or replacement from time to time.
A significant structural difference of the present invention over the device of the Shimura patent is the physical configuration of the present invention, wherein a substantially flat surface extending the length of the floway is provided for transporting solid debris such as leaves, twigs, trash and the like from the floway entrance rearwardly to an open mesh bag utilized at the rear end of the floway. In contrast, the Shimura device involves an entrance surface sloping downwardly at a steep angle, rather than utilizing a substantially flat, continuous surface.
The sharply descending inner front surface of Shimura is such as to cause water and oil entering the Shimura device to move steeply downwardly so as to enter the suction port for his pump 9, with the suction port for the pump and the associated filter being provided an intermediate floor 25.
It was in an effort to improve upon these and other such devices that the present invention was designed.